March 2012 The Centre Newsletter No 2 Yes, this is the logo chosen to represent The Centre and you will be seeing it around the Estate on publicity posters in the coming weeks. The Story So Far.. In the last edition of the newsletter, we outlined the development of the Elsea Park Community Centre and how it came to be part of the estate. From the time of its foundations being laid until the last pane of glass was installed it remains the property of the Developer, Kier but now we can reveal that the handover date will be 23 rd March, when The Centre and its grounds will become the property of the Elsea Park Trust. To mark the occasion, there will be an official ceremony with management from Kier (the Developer), members of the Trust Board and local dignitaries present to mark this important event. This is the point at which the Residents Group and the Trust Board will work on their plan to ensure that The Centre is totally equipped to serve the community it was designed for. Now a much more hands-on approach is needed: furniture will be delivered, the kitchen will be equipped, in fact everything needed for the smooth running of The Centre will be put in place. The Office is also on the move. Sally Waltham, the Trust Manager and her staff will be moving from the property on Tilia Way up to the new office at The Centre. So please make a note that the office will be closed from 30th March until 10th April. Messages left on the landline 01778 423062 or mobile 07899 844662 will be answered when the office reopens on the Tuesday after Easter. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Handover Opening Events Weekend Hiring the Centre News Update Office Move & Temporary Closure
And finally the Date You Have Been Waiting for THE GRAND OPENING EVENT WEEKEND 26 th and 27 th May Arrangements are well underway for this exciting opportunity to come and see The Centre for yourself. Below you will find a fun packed programme for the first day. We want this to be a great family day out and for you to meet neighbours and friends and to get to know new people too. 12 noon in the Hall LIVE MUSIC from local bands and musicians. Come and enjoy the music and have some free refreshment. 4 5 pm Dave the Clown will host the CHILDREN S DISCO. Under 16s come and make some shapes on the dance floor to the latest tunes. Crisps and squash will be served to keep those energy levels up! Throughout the afternoon from 12 noon onwards, Grasmere Foods will be providing a BARBECUE, so come and get a burger or hotdog (See how to get your FREE ticket on the next page). The Red Lion will be running a bar at the same time where you can buy drinks, so there will be something for everyone as well as the teas, coffees and cakes inside. 7.30 p.m. Time to let your hair down for the HOG ROAST AND BARN DANCE ( 5 per person) great value for a fun evening. SATURDAY, 26 TH MAY 2012 THE CENTRE OPENS 11 am THE OPENING CEREMONY Members of the Board with the winner of the poster competition will officially open The Centre. Come and have a hot drink and piece of cake to celebrate! 12 noon THE INFLATABLE FUNFARE ASSAULT COURSE opens. Through the day, there will be stalls to visit. We are inviting groups who could provide activities and courses at The Centre to come and show what they can do. Some local charities will be there too, so come and give them some support. SUNDAY 27TH MAY Arrangements are still being made for this day. At the moment, we have the two local Classic Racing Car groups attending on that day and they will be bringing cars to display. Full details will be in the next newsletter. For all ages, 3 years to teenagers. (Please note that children under 5 need to be accompanied by an adult great excuse to have a go!) Dave the Clown is coming to entertain the children and make FREE BALLOON ANIMALS. There will also be FREE FACE PAINTING.
HOW TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE OPENING EVENT In the next few weeks, there will be another newsletter with a very important insert - a postcard (designed by the winner of the poster competition!). On the reverse, you will find details of the events which will require a ticket for the day. Some things like the burgers and sausages will be free, but YOU WILL STILL NEED A TICKET IN ADVANCE so that we know how many burgers and sausages to order. As you can see from the timetable, we are charging 5 per person for the Hog Roast and Barn Dance, and we will only be able to sell 120 tickets maximum SO DON T MISS OUT, MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE. When the postcard arrives in the next newsletter, bring it to the Trust Office, either in Tilia Way or at the new office in the Centre where the appropriate section will be stamped. These tickets are only available for people living on the estate, but if you have guests for the weekend you can also get tickets for them so that you can have a good day out together. AND FINALLY.. DON T FORGET! 27th March is the cut off point for the poster competition. Get those entries in to the Trust Office in Tilia Way by then. There will be a 25 gift voucher for the winners of each of the age groups and remember, the overall winner will have their design used in the publicity for the opening and attend the opening ceremony a once in a lifetime event. So get those paints, crayons, pencils out and start creating NOW! All entries must be on A4 paper to be received at the Trust Office, 27 Tilia Way, Bourne PE10 0QR by 27th March and must be clearly marked with the name, age and address of the artist.
OPERATING THE CENTRE AS A BUSINESS Over the past few months, there has been much discussion and research going on into other similar Centres, including a site visit to a Centre provided as part of a new development like at Elsea Park, with a view to deciding on how best to run this business and how much to charge. The end result is that we have decided on a business strategy as follows to operate the Centre: An office base for the Trust so making a financial contribution to the Centre & minimising on staffing costs at the Centre Recognising the potential of the Centre as the heart of the Elsea Park community by encouraging a wide range of social activities for all age groups Provide a range of quality facilities to hire Market the Centre to the local Bourne community Encourage resident involvement in the management and operation of the Centre Give a 25% discount rate on hire to residents of Elsea Park
HIRING THE CENTRE There is a range of areas for hire: the Main Hall, with stage; the Hall can be divided into two by a wooden screen forming smaller areas suitable for a variety of activities. There is a meeting room which will be equipped with projector, whiteboard and flipcharts. The lounge is suited to small informal gatherings. The Centre is also available for exclusive use of all the areas for the whole day, half the day or just the evening. Enquire at the Trust Office for more details. The Centre will operate with a preferred bar operator linked to events. It is also planned to have a list of preferred caterers. For more detail about the facilities at the Centre and how to make a booking, contact the Trust Office AREA NORMAL RATE/HOUR RESIDENTS RATE/ HOUR Main Hall 35.00 26.25 Half Hall without 20.00 15.00 stage Half Hall with stage 25.00 18.75 Meeting Room 15.00 11.25 Lounge 8.00 6.00 25% DISCOUNT ON HIRE RATES FOR ELSEA PARK RESIDENTS
WHAT COURSES & ACTIVITES WILL BE ON OFFER? We really need to hear from people or organisations who can offer a skill, talent or knowledge that they can share with others. If that applies to you, we want to hear from you. We are looking for people who can use The Centre for all sorts of groups, for example, Keep Fit, Dancercise, Craft Groups, Mother & Toddler groups, Coffee Mornings, Luncheon Club, Youth Clubs, Children s Activities, Guides, Brownies, Rainbows, Scouts, Cubs, Venture Scouts. It s up to you. Interest has already come from people running kickboxing, Zumba, dance classes, yoga and Pilates Most enquiries have been about hire of the Main Hall but we have a purpose built meeting room suitable for smaller groups. Seating 16 20 people, the room is particularly suited to group meetings, business events and informal gatherings If you are interested in hiring the Centre you can have a free stall at the opening event to promote your particular activity. Contact the Trust Office with your details
NEWS UPDATE NEW DIRECTORS Two new Resident Directors have been appointed to the Trust Board. They are Anna Crawford Clarke and Jono Brough. This brings the number of Resident Directors to five as they join Angela Bailey (Chairman), Barry Cook (Vice-Chairman) and Matt Upex (Director of Finance). The role of the Board is to run the Trust, deciding on things like maintenance programmes, land transfer, equipping and running the Centre, conservation measures for Elsea Park and the Meadows. The Board meets monthly. All Resident Directors are volunteers and give their time free of charge. RESIDENTS GROUP More people are joining the Residents Group which currently has its focus on the opening of the Centre. Interested? Contact the Trust Office and we will let you know when the date of the next meeting. A small group from the Residents Group is planning the Opening Weekend Events using the wider Residents Group as a sounding board. As the Group grows space for meetings in the Tilia Way office is becoming a little cramped so we will be pleased to have more space when we move to the Centre. The Residents Group welcomes more members to join them particularly those who are willing to help on the Opening Weekend. LAND TRANSFER It is planned that at the same time as the Centre legally transfers to the Trust the majority of the green area and the play areas will transfer as well. The transfer excludes the ponds at this time. Also land on the Taylor Wimpy and Bovis developments will not be taken on as those developers have not yet come forward with proposals for transfer. The green area which is part of the David Wilson Homes development will transfer to the Trust in due course. CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG We know that the majority of dog owners are responsible and clean up after their dog but some are not. We have an increasing number of complaints about dog mess. We will be providing more bins but in the meantime be neighbourly: BAG IT, BIN IT or TAKE IT HOME. Once the land has transferred to the Trust it is intended to provide more bins both for general and dog waste.
TRUST OFFICE MOVE The Trust has had a number of different homes over its lifetime but it will soon move to purpose designed offices at the Centre. Here will be able to respond to enquiries from residents as well as from users and hirers of the Centre. The Centre also includes a workshop for our grounds maintenance operation. The Centre is a quality building provided by Kier under the planning agreement. It will be an asset to the Elsea Park community. From Tuesday 10 April the Trust Office will operate from the Centre @ Elsea Park. The Centre will be open to callers from the same date which is the Tuesday after Easter. The Centre will be available for hire from June 2012. Until 31 March 2012 our address is: Elsea Park Community Trust 27 Tilia Way, Bourne 01778 423062 Email: admin@elseapark.co.uk www.elseapark.co.uk The Office will be closed from Friday 30 March to Thursday 4 April From the Tuesday after Easter we will be open for business at the Centre From 1 April 2012 our new address will be: Elsea Park Community Trust The Centre @ Elsea Park 1 Sandown Drive, Bourne PE10 0US 01778 423062 Email: admin@elseapark.co.uk www.elseapark.co.uk 4